Steam Warfare is a steam punk-themed objective based team deathmatch mod for Unreal Tournament 2004. I worked on Team Rock Lobster with two artists, three programmers, and three other level designers over a development cycle of three months. For this project I served as a level designer and was primarily in charge of the gameplay mechanics design and early documentation phases. For the final game, I completed one level of the four levels and over ten pieces of environmental static meshes.

This is a map of the level transposed over a shot of the terrain and bases. The green paths show where the mines are, and thus the critical player paths. Several possible strategies exist to winning this map. Offensive approaches involve taking the control points and rushing the enemy base from either side. More defensive approaches involve either bringing large amounts of coal back to your base or capturing a control point and ferrying the coal to there. Setting up a fortified defense on the single coal spawn is also viable.

About Steam Warfare...

It’s the 30th year of the Coal Revolution. When the blessings of science were turned toward war, demand for raw materials increased. Control over these resources has become the focus of conflict. Military forces now occupy towns to seize their production, turning them into machines of war. Brutal and fruitless battles erupt, sundering a once-proud nation.

Now all that remain are two factions: The Rags and The Coats. The Rags are what remains of the citizens of the land. They seek to control of these resources in order to reclaim their homes and rebuild. The Coats are the remnants of the army, who are trying to control these resources to build more weapons and conquer all who oppose them.

Steam Warfare is a class-based team deathmatch experience with an emphasis on teamwork. Classes with complimentary abilities allow a player to play to their strengths and favorite play style. Resources add a level of strategy to the map – collect them to build a superweapon and fortify your base, while denying them from your opponents. Each match ends when a team destroys their enemy’s base, either by building a super weapon through resource collection or by traveling into the depths of their enemy’s base and destroying it from within.